Mohamed’s America is the same country that’s struggling with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The most recent PISA results, which measure the competencies of 15-year-olds, ranked the US a sad 35th out of 64 countries in math, and 27th in science. A Pew study published in February with a focus on K-12 STEM education showed little progress.

Mohamed’s America is the same country that educates some of the world’s best minds at its universities only to lose them because it doesn’t have enough H-1B visas to go around. “We take very, very smart people, bring them into the country, give them a diploma and kick them out,” said Google’s Eric Schmidt, “where they go on to create companies that compete with us.”

Mohamed’s America is also the country that’s rallying to his defense on Twitter under the #IStandWithAhmed hashtag. One of his earliest and most vocal supporters is Anil Dash, entrepreneur, writer and self-professed geek.